"This is a paranormal murder mystery with something of a Victorian steampunk aesthetic and hints of Agatha Christie elements at times (for example, the missing government documents à la The Incredible Theft).

There is, however, a strong underlying supernatural aspect to the whole case and to certain characters, that isn’t fully explored or explained, only hinted at throughout (flashing eyes, changing faces, long life spans). I felt a little like there was a previous, background-setting story that I might have missed, with more of the worldbuilding details and character histories? But perhaps the author is building the world and characters through this slow, gradual reveal and I’m just too impatient to know what’s going on!

Main characters Caine and Thorne take on the investigation of some exceptionally grisly and brutal murders related to Boer War espionage, with the reader given sneaky insights into the killer’s methods and motivations along the way. I did manage to guess the cryptic hidden identities before they were all revealed, but it was such a fun clue and I really enjoyed solving it. Plus, without that we would have struggled to guess the killer via picking at alibis or any other usual techniques, as we knew from the prologue that they could be literally anybody.

The twist at the end confirms that this book is a series starter and I would definitely be interested in reading more � for one thing, I need to know Caine and Thorne’s backstories and work out how the magical elements of the story work!

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